Disney Social Media Moms – “On The Road”

Posted on: June 27th, 2013 by Kate Hamernik

I wanted to give you all a little recap of a fun conference I went to just this week! I was beyond thrilled to be invited to Disney Social Media Moms “On The Road” Conference. I had heard only good things about these conferences and I was so excited! Disney Social Media Moms offers it’s attendees a sneak peek behind the scenes at Disney, but it also empowers work at home moms to pursue our dreams. It was short – 4 hours to be exact. Oh, but it was such a magical 4 hours!

I have always been a huge fan of all things Disney. My plan growing up was to be a Disney Animator, not just any animator, but Disney. College started in that direction and as life happens, plans change and as you can tell, I am not the Disney Animator that 15 year old me anticipated for 30- something me. And that is OK. One thing I did not expect out of life was that from time to time I would get sneak peeks and get to blog about my first love….. Disney!

We learned what is new & next ………..

Our family loves Disneyland and we hope to got to Walt Disney World someday! An all new Fantasyland is open in Walt Disney World – Fantasyland is my favorite ‘land’ in Disneyland so now I am dying to book a flight to Florida! One really cool new addition at Disneyland Park that we got to check out about a month ago is Mickey and the Magical Map – if you are planning a trip soon to Anaheim – make sure to check it out! Also, if you haven’t heard – an AWESOME Disney Pixar movie called Monster’s Inc is open in theaters all over! I seriously hope that I will have the opportunity to share even more personal sneak peeks at Disney in the future!!

I absolutely love what I do. So much so that I really want to just do it better. I love blogging and I love that it provides me with a small income and that I can be at home for the most part with my kiddos. There is a catch with being a work at home mama though – sometimes you keep your work hat on too long…. sometimes you never take it off. That is a problem.

Our Keynote Speaker Mindee Doney – co-creator of Boogie Wipes spoke of this struggle that many work at home moms have. I suppose this can be the case in any work environment, but I do find personally that it is hard for me to define those boundaries. She spoke about how her business grew and grew – from a small business out of their garage to being in major retailers all over the country and beyond. She also shared how it took a toll on her marriage and family and the rough lessons she learned. Her story has come full circle to a happy place that balances a big family and a new business in a way that left just about everyone in the room inspired. I just love when a speaker can share what went well, what went wrong, what they learned from them, and how they grew. Sharing the ups and downs of a journey helps those just embarking.

My favorite quote from Mindee was “Mothering didn’t get easier, I got better.” …… and I was like ‘mind blown’.

Anyway – she was so inspiring to all of us there that are trying to balance working at home and doing the best by our family. I just had to get a picture with her. For sure an ‘ah ha’ moment for many of us in attendance!

We were also encouraged by a panel of mompreneurs who recently won a Huggies Mom Inspired Grant. “The Huggies ® MomInspiredâ„¢ Grant Program is awarding up to $15,000 to further the development of innovative products inspired by the joys of motherhood.” It was incredible to listen to these mothers who built their own businesses from the ground up – all while juggling motherhood, family, and every day life. I wanted to point out also that the Huggies Mom Inspired Grant is accepting applications! If you are a mom and you have a fun business plan that you would like to bring to fruition you should check it out!

I truly had an amazing time and I thank the good folks at Disney for inviting me. Thank you to the amazing Mr. Deals & Steals & grandma for taking care of our munchkins while I attended this fun conference! I know our readers are big Disney fans and I hope we can talk Disney again soon!